Bunda students take to streets again
Studentsfrom BundaCollege of Agriculture on Monday took to the streets again blocking Mitundu road in Lilongwe protesting in a bid to push for their full book and stationery allowances.
“We have closed the road of Mitundu markert. We are doing this to express our anger,” said College Students Union President Frackson Phwitiko.
Phwitiko said the Monday protests was “just the beginning” of students anger.
Last week the students also staged protests outside the Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) premises over the newly introduced loan forms.
Students from the country’s two public universities (Mzuzu and UNIMA) are arguing that the new loan form designed by the state owned bank is very complicated and prohibitive and must be reviewed before they can adopt it.
But MSB has been adamant to bow down to the students’ pressure because it thinks the newly designed form would easily enable them to recover the loans.
The students further argue that the new form will make them spend more than they used to because it is too demanding and if MSB cannot change it then it has to stop disbursing the loans.
In a memorandum signed by both government and the bank five months ago, the students are entitled to receive K30 000 ($180) per month as book and stationery allowance. But the students said the majority of them have received between K10 000 ($60) and K15 000 ($90) which, apart from being little, came two months late.
Out out of 673 students only 34 have received the full amount.
The development comes barely a month after their colleges from the Mzuzu Univestiry also camped at the bank’s premises in the city demanding justice as well.
MZUNI Student Union President Moses Chalera vowed that MZUNI students would not fill the said forms come what may.
“As Mzuzu University students, we are strongly against these forms because they are prohibitive, and will fight tooth and nail to make sure that they are replaced,” he said.
Students are supposed to receive K55 000 for book and stationery allowance during the first two weeks of their arrival at the campus but it has taken government seven weeks now and it is not known when the students will get their loans.
